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arXiv:0805.2427 · IEEE Transactions on Information Theory

On Trapping Sets and Guaranteed Error Correction Capability of LDPC Codes and GLDPC Codes

S.K. Chilappagari, Dung Viet Nguyen, B. Vasic, Michael W. Marcellin

Published Mar 24, 2010• 34 citations
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Abstract

The relation between the girth and the guaranteed error correction capability of¿-left-regular low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes when decoded using the bit flipping (serial and parallel) algorithms is investigated. A lower bound on the size of variable node sets which expand by a factor of at least3 ¿/4is found based on the Moore bound. This bound, combined with the well known expander based arguments, leads to a lower bound on the guaranteed error correction capability. The decoding failures of the bit flipping algorithms are characterized using the notions of trapping sets and fixed sets. The relation between fixed sets and a class of graphs known as cage graphs is studied. Upper bounds on the guaranteed error correction capability are then established based on the order of cage graphs. The results are extended to left-regular and right-uniform generalized LDPC codes. It is shown that this class of generalized LDPC codes can correct a linear number of worst case errors (in the code length) under the parallel bit flipping algorithm when the underlying Tanner graph is a good expander. A lower bound on the size of variable node sets which have the required expansion is established.

DOI
10.1109/tit.2010.2040962

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The relation between the girth and the guaranteed error correction capability of¿-left-regular low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes when decoded using the bit flipping (serial and parallel) algorithms is investigated. A lower bound on the size of variable node sets which expand by a factor of at least3 ¿/4is found based on the Moore bound. This bound, combined with the well known expander based arguments, leads to a lower bound on the guaranteed error correction capability. The decoding failures of the bit flipping algorithms are characterized using the notions of trapping sets and fixed sets. The relation between fixed sets and a class of graphs known as cage graphs is studied. Upper bounds on the guaranteed error correction capability are then established based on the order of cage graphs. The results are extended to left-regular and right-uniform generalized LDPC codes. It is shown that this class of generalized LDPC codes can correct a linear number of worst case errors (in the code length) under the parallel bit flipping algorithm when the underlying Tanner graph is a good expander. A lower bound on the size of variable node sets which have the required expansion is established.
The relation between the girth and the guaranteed error correction capability of γ-left regular LDPC codes when decoded using the bit flipping (serial and parallel) algorithms is investigated. A lower bound on the size of variable node sets which expand by a factor of at least 3γ/4 is found based on the Moore bound. An upper bound on the guaranteed error correction capability is established by studying the sizes of smallest possible trapping sets. The results are extended to generalized LDPC codes. It is shown that generalized LDPC codes can correct a linear fraction of errors under the parallel bit flipping algorithm when the underlying Tanner graph is a good expander. It is also shown that the bound cannot be improved when γ is even by studying a class of trapping sets. A lower bound on the size of variable node sets which have the required expansion is established.
We investigate the relation between the girth and the guaranteed error correction capability of γ-left regular LDPC codes. For column-weight-three codes, we give upper and lower bounds on the number of errors correctable by the Gallager A algorithm. For higher column weight codes, we find the number of variable nodes which are guaranteed to expand by a factor of at least 3γ/4, hence giving a lower bound on the guaranteed correction capability under the bit flipping (serial and parallel) algorithms. We also establish upper bounds by studying the sizes of smallest possible trapping sets.
Consider an ensemble of regular generalized LDPC (GLDPC) codes and assume that the same component code is associated with each parity check node. To decode a GLDPC code from the ensemble, we use the bit flipping bounded distance decoding algorithm, which is an extension of the bit flipping algorithm for LDPC codes. Previous work has shown conditions, under which, for a typical code in the ensemble with blocklength sufficiently large, a positive constant fraction of worst case errors can be corrected. In this work we first show that these requirements can be relaxed for ensembles with small left degrees. While previous work on GLDPC codes has considered expander graph arguments, our analysis formulates a necessary condition that the Tanner graph needs to satisfy for a failure event and then shows that the probability of this event vanishes for a sufficiently large blocklength. We then extend the analysis to random error correction and derive a lower bound on the fraction of random errors that can be corrected asymptotically. We discuss the extension of our results to non-binary GLDPC codes and present numerical examples.
A new class of bit flipping algorithms for low-density parity-check codes over the binary symmetric channel is proposed. Compared to the regular (parallel or serial) bit flipping algorithms, the proposed algorithms employ one additional bit at a variable node to represent its "strength." The introduction of this additional bit allows an increase in the guaranteed error correction capability. An additional bit is also employed at a check node to capture information which is beneficial to decoding. A framework for failure analysis and selection of two-bit bit flipping algorithms is provided. The main component of this framework is the (re)definition of trapping sets, which are the most "compact" Tanner graphs that cause decoding failures of an algorithm. A recursive procedure to enumerate trapping sets is described. This procedure is the basis for selecting a collection of algorithms that work well together. It is demonstrated that decoders which employ a properly selected group of the proposed algorithms operating in parallel can offer high speed and low error floor decoding.
Ever since the publication of Shannon's seminal work in 1948, the search for capacity achieving codes has led to many interesting discoveries in channel coding theory. Low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes originally proposed in 1963 were largely forgotten and rediscovered recently. The significance of LDPC codes lies in their capacity approaching performance even when decoded using low complexity sub-optimal decoding algorithms. Iterative decoders are one such class of decoders that work on a graphical representation of a code known as the Tanner graph. Their properties have been well understood in the asymptotic limit of the code length going to infinity. However, the behavior of various decoders for a given finite length code remains largely unknown.An understanding of the failures of the decoders is vital for the error floor analysis of a given code. Broadly speaking, error floor is the abrupt degradation in the frame error rate (FER) performance of a code in the high signal-to-noise ratio domain. Since the error floor phenomenon manifests in the regions not reachable by Monte-Carlo simulations, analytical methods are necessary for characterizing the decoding failures. In this work, we consider hard decision decoders for transmission over the binary symmetric channel (BSC).For column-weight-three codes, we provide tight upper and lower bounds on the guaranteed error correction capability of a code under the Gallager A algorithm by studying combinatorial objects known as trapping sets. For higher column weight codes, we establish bounds on the minimum number of variable nodes that achieve certain expansion as a function of the girth of the underlying Tanner graph, thereby obtaining lower bounds on the guaranteed error correction capability. We explore the relationship between a class of graphs known as cage graphs and trapping sets to establish upper bounds on the error correction capability.We also propose an algorithm to identify the most probable noise configurations, also known as instantons, that lead to error floor for linear programming (LP) decoding over the BSC. With the insight gained from the above analysis techniques, we propose novel code construction techniques that result in codes with superior error floor performance.